Push and Pull
As an educator learning about educating, the more I am exposed to Inquiry-based learning, the more I have questions about it. One such is 'if it results in better self-regulation for the children.'
Inquiry Based learning is self-directed learning through a process of questioning, invesigating and reflecting.
As per Dr. Stuart Shanker, Canada’s leading expert on self-regulation, It is the childs ability to manage their own emotions, behaviours, and attention in ways that are socially acceptable. They are able to maintain good relationships, learn well, and maintain well-being.
The best ways often to find out answers are to experiment, or as the children say hypothesize about it. Here are two ways I feel that children helped me try and answer this question.
The classroom is studying forces and movement in the Science and Technology Curriculum for Grade 3. I set up a science centre for them with books, magnets, papers and game sheets. One of the forces that the children will be learning will be Magnetism. Looking at the setup, children had already started asking are we going to play with magnets, what is that u shaped thing and I could see the initial interest.
We started with a song on Magnetism. They were ready to learn and relaxed. I then asked them if they can share anything that they have seen at home which is magnetic. Out came the responses "Magnets on my fridge "the door of the pantry shuts" "I have a toy train and it sticks to one another". They were sharing the kinds of magnets they had and other toys with magnetic properties.
Now it was time to get started on asking the questions They were all given yellow notes and asked to write down what information they know about Magnets. They wrote "Magnets stick together" "Magnets will stick to the bottom of my desk"
This collection of the existing knowledge helps me decide on the baseline.Now they wrote down their questions or wonder- Do they break? can it explode? How do you make a magnet? Will it work in water? It cannot work in water, it will get wet. Does it work through wood? No I don't think so, I think it might work because wood is strong,
This respectful exchange of ideas and negating each other is an important self-regulation skill. This is very relevant to 21st-century learning skills as they prepare for unknown careers of the tomorrow. They need to be able to work in teams, state their point with confidence and learn to find their own answers
We sat down to go through our findings and check if there were any unanswered questions or if they had come up with new ones. Look I made a 'T'. Another child used the coins and magnets to create a mandala design. Now that they had started playing with it, they were looking at cross-curriculum areas.
One idea which came up was can we make something with magnets. I suggested that they could use household materials like straws, paperclips, and playdough and make crane, train or fridge magnet with parents.
We regrouped for a quick carpet chat where we went through comparative questions which I guided them through "Can we make nonmagnetic things magnetic" "Can we destroy a magnet"
Inquiry Based learning is self-directed learning through a process of questioning, invesigating and reflecting.
As per Dr. Stuart Shanker, Canada’s leading expert on self-regulation, It is the childs ability to manage their own emotions, behaviours, and attention in ways that are socially acceptable. They are able to maintain good relationships, learn well, and maintain well-being.
The best ways often to find out answers are to experiment, or as the children say hypothesize about it. Here are two ways I feel that children helped me try and answer this question.
PUSH OR PULL
The classroom is studying forces and movement in the Science and Technology Curriculum for Grade 3. I set up a science centre for them with books, magnets, papers and game sheets. One of the forces that the children will be learning will be Magnetism. Looking at the setup, children had already started asking are we going to play with magnets, what is that u shaped thing and I could see the initial interest.WONDER
We started with a song on Magnetism. They were ready to learn and relaxed. I then asked them if they can share anything that they have seen at home which is magnetic. Out came the responses "Magnets on my fridge "the door of the pantry shuts" "I have a toy train and it sticks to one another". They were sharing the kinds of magnets they had and other toys with magnetic properties. Now it was time to get started on asking the questions They were all given yellow notes and asked to write down what information they know about Magnets. They wrote "Magnets stick together" "Magnets will stick to the bottom of my desk"
This collection of the existing knowledge helps me decide on the baseline.Now they wrote down their questions or wonder- Do they break? can it explode? How do you make a magnet? Will it work in water? It cannot work in water, it will get wet. Does it work through wood? No I don't think so, I think it might work because wood is strong,
This respectful exchange of ideas and negating each other is an important self-regulation skill. This is very relevant to 21st-century learning skills as they prepare for unknown careers of the tomorrow. They need to be able to work in teams, state their point with confidence and learn to find their own answers
INVESTIGATE
Time to find answers! Exploring and Experimenting. I read a book on Magnets.The children are urged to investigate with a variety of materials and they did it in pairs so that they were able to discuss their learning. The most exciting moments were when they discovered that the like poles repel, so when they placed the magnet and it started pulling away, there were some oohs and aahs. When children are active and present in their learning there is less requirement to stress on focus and less behavior management issues in the room.
CREATE & REFLECT
We sat down to go through our findings and check if there were any unanswered questions or if they had come up with new ones. Look I made a 'T'. Another child used the coins and magnets to create a mandala design. Now that they had started playing with it, they were looking at cross-curriculum areas.
One idea which came up was can we make something with magnets. I suggested that they could use household materials like straws, paperclips, and playdough and make crane, train or fridge magnet with parents.
We regrouped for a quick carpet chat where we went through comparative questions which I guided them through "Can we make nonmagnetic things magnetic" "Can we destroy a magnet"
Sharing their learning with others makes them own the process of learning. This builds confidence and self-esteem.
We ended the day with a scavenger hunt where children headed out with their clipboards and an attractive Magnet sheet with north and south poles marked so they could find 3 magnetic and 3 nonmagnetic items around the school. They went armed with magnets testing it out against fire extinguishers, door stoppers, artwork, the wall, sneaker laces and the list went on...The laughter in the corridor, the excited discussion and the disappointed faces when the bell rang was answer enough for me.
 |
| Scavenger Hunt |
